What I See
by TheWriterFormerlyKnownAsNixon
Summary: WHAT'S THAT, I'M BACK? When the cast of TDWT get a break, Cody and Gwen finally get a moment to themselves to talk about, well, each other. When Gwen asks Cody just what he sees in her that makes him so persistent, how will she react to his response?


HE'S THE LEADER OF THE BUNCH, YOU KNOW HIM WELL!

HE'S FINALLY BACK, TO KICK SOME TAIL.

And I'm finally out from my hibernation or whatever, here to bring you this lovely tale.

"Wow…"

Cody chuckled a bit at as he flipped the page of his comic book.

"Hm… You know, I never realized how similar Tony Stark can be to me at times…" Cody muttered to himself as he continued reading.

He was sitting outside one of the many cabins on the campground, waiting for… Well, anything really. He was just thankful that Chris had given them this nice little break. This was his third season on this show and they'd been traveling all over the world in a plane.

Sure, it sounds nice, but they never actually got to have FUN anywhere, it was all challenges. Except this time (Cody could only assume there was some law requiring a break like this, because Chris was never this nice.), they had actually stopped in some part of America. One of the mountain ranges or something, though he wasn't sure which.

Wherever they were, they were spending a few days relaxing in a nice little camp/resort for a few days before their torment continued. So for now he was going to enjoy the quiet time he had.

You know, provided Sierra left him alone.

"Yeah right…" He sighed to himself.

Sometimes he wondered if Sierra was some sort of punishment for something he did. Sure she was a nice person and he didn't HATE her or anything, but… God damn it, she was still one of the most obnoxious (And creepiest) girls he'd ever met… Ironic considering he always thought having a fan-girl like her would be FUN.

Regardless, she seemed to be off somewhere else at the moment, so he was just going to use his free time with nobody but…

"GOD DAMN IT!"

Cody winced as a loud scream tore through his thoughts. He looked up slightly to see someone stomping over towards him.

…Gwen?

Oh great, NOW what happened?

She seemed to be muttering something to herself, no doubt obscenities about whoever she was just talking to. Cody smiled a bit as she approached, waving a little nervously.

"…Hey Gwen, what was that all ab…"

"Shut up." She cut him off (He was thankful she didn't scream it at least…) "I'm really NOT in the mood right now…" She growled as she stepped into the cabin, slamming the door.

Oh that's right… The teams (Amazon, Chris, Victory.) all had to share cabins to an extent; it was "part of the deal" or some crap like that. Of course, the cabin was pretty damn big; there were two areas with beds, so Cody didn't have to share a room with all the girls (Which, he had to admit, he was a little disappointed about at first… Until he realized that'd put him in the same room as Sierra. At least with his own room he could lock the door.)

Cody sighed as he put his book down. He knew trying to go in there was probably bad for his health, but he wasn't about to just sit here while Gwen was so miserable.

After all, everyone knew how he felt about her…

So despite his better judgment, Cody got up from his seat.

The sudden yell from the cabin startled him so much he fell back down on it. It was really just an "Aaah" type yell, nothing more.

Cody waited a bit to make sure there was no… Aftershock, then got up again. Taking a breath, he slowly opened the door.

"…Gwen…?" Cody called out softly as he peeked through the doorway slightly.

He saw the goth pacing back and forth angrily, still muttering to herself.

"Gwen…?" He said it a bit louder this time. "Eep…" He hid a bit as she suddenly stopped and shot a death glare at him.

"I told you, I'm not in the mood right now, Cody!" She yelled.

"B-but…"

"What! What the hell do you want!" She looked like she was ready to lunge at him.

He took a breath before fully stepping into the room.

"I just… You seem really upset…"

"OH, REALLY!" He flinched a bit as she interrupted him.

"You… You seem really upset so I thought I'd… I'd try to help out…?"

She covered his ears and eyes as she took a deep breath, and prepared for another outburst.

When nothing happened, he opened one of his eyes and saw her exhale, her angry expression turning into a more apologetic one.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't be yelling at you about this… It's not like this was your fault or anything" She sighed.

Cody smiled a bit, happy that she seemed to calm down a bit.

"Don't worry about it, you just had to blow off some steam I'm sure," He said.

"I guess…" She shook her head a bit. "Still, I shouldn't have snapped like that. You're just trying to help…" She sighed once again as she sat down on one of the beds.

"Well… I mean, look we both know you didn't mean it, so it's no big deal… Anyways, what's got you so upset?" He inquired as he walked over to the bed she was sitting on.

"Oh, it's nothing… Just Heather being… Heather is all." She paused. "Oh, sorry did you want to sit down?"

"Nah, I'm fine right here." Cody shook his head. "So, just Heather? I figured you'd gotten used to that right now."

Gwen looked down, sighing yet again.

"Well it's not just that…" She stopped for a second. "It's just… I'm sick of it. Sick of all of it!" She said a bit loudly.

"Sick of what?"

"Just… Everything! Sick of this show, sick of the plane, sick of traveling, sick of Chris, sick of Chef..." Her speech began to get faster and faster. Cody stepped back a bit as he could feel anger starting to rise again. "Sick of the competition , sick of Heather, sick of Sierra, sick of Courtney…. GAH! Sick of EVERYONE!" She flung herself on the bed. "I'M JUST TIRED OF THIS WHOLE DAMN THING!"

Cody was silent for a moment as Gwen panted a bit, her tiny rant over. She slowly sat up again, taking a deep breath and then exhaling it.

"It just feels like everyone's against me this season…" She said, shaking her head. "Ever since the last season… I mean Heather always was, but after everything that happened with Trent and Duncan… And now none of my "Friends" like Leshawna are here… Hell, even my whole team hates me right now."

"Now hold on…"

Gwen looked up, and smiled a tiny bit

"Alright… ALMOST everyone's against me this season." She stopped, her smile dropping. "Honestly though, I'm surprised you haven't at this point…"

Cody looked at her, puzzled.

"Now why would I do that?" He asked.

"Well you know, the fact that I've treated you like crap?" Cody chuckled.

"Oh you're exaggerating… I mean yeah you've snapped at me more than a few times… Maybe punched me once or twice…" He trailed off as she raised an eyebrow. Clearing his throat, he continued. "But… Let's face it; I've deserved it most of the time."

"…How could you deserve to get punched? You're the only person here who still actually is on "my side"."

"Well you know… Asking for your bra, sniffing your hair, you looking at my…"

"CODY!" She blushed a tiny a bit.

"Oh… Right, we're not supposed to talk about that anymore…" He rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly.

"Okay, so you've… Annoyed me… More than a few times." She admitted. "But you've still generally treated me a lot better than most of the other people here… And I'll I've done is tell you to leave me alone…"

There was a small silence.

"Well I mean… You seem just generally annoyed when I try to talk to you in the first place."

"I guess…" She shrugged a bit. "I mean, it's usually in the middle of a challenge when you've tried stuff… And you know how I feel about Chris and this contest." She chuckled a bit.

"Oh I know…" He laughed softly.

"But… Still, I've never REALLY talked to you much since day 1… In fact, the first time you spoke to me I threw you out the door remember?"

"I try to forget…"

"Exactly." She sighed once more. "I don't get it."

"Don't get what?"

"Why do you STILL… Well, like me? All 3 seasons I've done nothing but ignore you or hit you. How could you of all people still actually still think I'm worth anything?"

Cody laughed.

"Come on, do you really need to know why I…"

"No Cody, I'm serious." She glared at him somewhat. "What exactly do you see in me? Why am I such a big deal for you?"

Cody looked at her carefully for a moment.

"You really want to know?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's why I asked!" She said as she rolled her eyes.

How it was Cody's turn to sigh.

"Alright…" He paused, taking a deep breath. "When I look at you I see a lot of things… I mean most people just see the blue hair and lipstick, the goth-style clothing… Stuff like that. I see a lot more though."

"…Like what?"

Again he paused, thinking for a moment. Finally, he took another breath.

"I see… I see the greatest girl I've ever met." He stopped for a second. "I'm not exaggerating either, Gwen… I mean, wow… The first time I saw you, I'll admit, I honestly just thought you were a really hot goth… But then when I actually saw how you acted… Wow…" He smiled, shaking his head. "I mean, every time we speak, even if it's only for like a couple seconds, I still feel this surreal happiness come over me… I've liked a LOT of girls, but I've never felt anything THIS strong for any of them… Just… God…"

He paused as he began to pace a bit.

"I see… The smartest girl I've ever met. Not just book smart… I mean, you've got such a down-to-earth personality… You're realistic. You've got a lot more common sense than most people I know. You don't have these unrealistic expectations of everyone that they could never meet. You don't fall for anyone's facades or tricks… So maybe you're not some scientific genius that's going to get all 100s in high school and college… But I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, you're smarter than all the world's top minds combined."

He wasn't even looking at her at this point; he didn't want to see how she was reacting to his speech.

"I see the strongest girl I've ever met. Okay, so Eva can probably kick your ass, and mine, and everyone else's. At once. But you've got a much stronger mind than anyone here… You don't let others sway your opinions on anything. You don't let people push you around about your looks or your personality. I mean, yeah Heather still picks on you but she's just impossible to stop. And sure she still annoys you, but it's not like it's REALLY having an effect on how you think. You have your own take on everything, and nobody can change that… So frankly, I think you're like a thousand times stronger than any body builder out there."

Gwen was silent this whole time, which Cody was both fearful and thankful about. Nevertheless, he continued.

"I see the coolest girl I've ever met. Yeah I know that sounds a little silly, but I mean it. You've got this own unique style I've never seen in anyone else… And I love it! You're not afraid to speak your mind about people and be honest with them. You've got this spunky attitude I rarely see in girls or anyone for that matter. You've got such a deep, mysterious feel about you unlike all those shallow, plastic girls. You're just… So much more fun to be around than all those other "Hot" girls everyone seems to like so much... Not saying you're ugly or anything of course!" He laughed nervously. "Actually that gets me to my last point…"

He stopped once more for a brief moment to collect his thoughts.

"I see the most beautiful girl I've ever met. I don't just mean outside beauty either… You know I find you… Attractive… Already." He blushed a bit. "I… Won't get into that… But you know that anyways. Plus, you've got the coolest fashion sense I've ever seen." He grinned. "But… That's not what I really mean. Everything about you… You're looks, your voice, your personality… Everything… Beautiful, inside and out. Your eyes, I feel, are like two little windows into this inner beauty of yours… Every time I look at them, I see this deep, mysterious, and wondrous beauty swirling around like a vortex… It just captivates me every time I look at it." He smiled a bit, shaking his head." And then I think of all these qualities of you and put them all together, try to form them all into one word, one entity to describe it all." He stopped pacing as he turned to her. "I mean, there's nothing more to really say then… You're my dream girl. The perfect girl in my mind… There's no flaws, no creases… Nothing. You're a perfect dream."

With that, he finished.

Gwen stared at him, her mouth opened somewhat. She looked deep in thought as she processed everything Cody just said. Cody bit his lower lip a bit, nervous about what her reaction was going to be.

An eternity seemed to pass as the room was filled with a heavy silence. The only sounds Cody could hear were his fast breathing and pounding heart. He jumped a bit when Gwen finally moved a bit, prepared to speak.

Now, Cody was expecting a lot of responses to that, but he was not prepared for she had to say.

"…You've been rehearsing that, haven't you?"

Cody's face flushed.

"What?"

"That whole speech… You've practiced that a bunch of times, haven't you?"

Cody's mind – and face – went blank for several seconds. Gwen laughed as he tried to process just what she had said.

"…Uh… Um…" He looked down. "Y-yes… I've had that prepared for awhile now… In fact I just practiced I the other day."

Gwen continued to giggle, still amused at his reaction to her response. She stopped when she saw his head hanging low a bit.

"Hey… I'm not saying it was stupid or anything."

He looked up.

"Hm? Really?"

"Of course not… It's just, I don't even think Shakespeare could have come up with something like that right off the top of his head." She laughed again.

"Oh… Well… Yeah I guess." He blushed, rubbing the back of his head once again. Then it hit him. "Wait… You mean that was like Shakespeare?" He grinned.

"Well… Okay, not THAT good." She admitted. "But that's on a whole other level… Still, that was…" Finally, she began to get serious as she shook her head. "…Wow… I mean, I knew at this point it was more than just thinking I'm "Hot" or whatever… But I had no idea…"

"Yeah." He cut her off a bit. "I've… kinda kept it secret because I was worried to tell you… I thought you would've just laughed."

Gwen scoffed.

"You honestly think I would've thought that was FUNNY?"

"Well…" He shrugged. "Yeah."

Gwen put a hand on her forehead, sighing as she shook her head.

"You're something, you know that… But I guess most guys are afraid to be emotional." She chuckled.

"Well that's true, I guess." Cody really wasn't sure how to act at this point; Gwen hadn't really said how she felt about that.

There was a small silence before Gwen spoke again.

"Well… I honestly don't know what I can say about that…" She looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "I mean… That's gotta be the nicest, sweetest thing I've ever heard anyone say about me."

Cody's face lit up a bit.

"Really?"

"Well yeah." She smiled, looking at him. "I don't think anyone else has ever rehearsed a speech about how they feel about me."

Cody blushed again, causing Gwen to giggle this time…

Suddenly, she got up.

"Well, I guess the only real way to respond to that is say how _I_ feel now." She said, smiling.

Cody gulped a bit.

"W-what do you mean…?"

"About you, of course." She said like it was obvious. She thought for a moment.

"Oh, you don't have to…"

"No, just let me finish." She stopped him. "Let's see… _I _see a boy who's afraid to show his real self to everyone… _I _see a boy who has trouble expressing his true feelings to people. _I _see a boy who has a secret side to him that more people need to see…"

Cody's face was turning redder by the minute.

"Close your eyes."

"What for…?" Cody looked confused.

"It's a surprise." She smirked. "Duh."

Deciding it was best not to ask any more, Cody complied. As Gwen continued to speak, she began to walk closer.

"Right… Now, I also see a boy who's been abused and ignored. A boy who deserves so much more than he's been given…" Cody didn't realize it, but Gwen was literally inches from him at this point. She leaned in to his ear. "And you know what else…?"

"W-what?"

"I see a boy who's about to get what's he deserved since the day I first met him…"

Before Cody could even begin to think of what it was, he felt something on his mouth. For a brief moment, he was a bit confused.

He had to stop himself from screaming in joy when he realized it was Gwen's lips.

Opening his eyes, it was confirmed; Gwen had leaned in and planted her lips right on his, trapping him in a soft, yet still loving kiss.

Cody's heart (And brain) were melting like butter. The soft, warm feeling of her sweet, sweet lips against his… He had dreamt this kiss happening again and again in his dreams…

But he never could have imagined it would have felt THIS good.

Unfortunately, the kiss ended rather shortly as Gwen pulled away. For a moment the two just stared at each other, Cody mouth moving a bit as she tried to find words to say, and Gwen smiling warmly as she let the kiss sink in.

Suddenly, Cody tried to move in for his own kiss, but Gwen put a finger up to his lips.

"Woah… Slow down there Cody." She giggled as he pulled back.

"B-B-But…"

"I wasn't finished…" She smirked.

Cody still was having trouble processing his thoughts, so he didn't say anything.

"I see the sweetest, nicest, and cutest guy I've ever met… I see everything I've ever wanted in a guy." She giggled. "He was right in from of me this whole time, but I was just too blind to ever notice."

Cody honestly doubted her feelings for him were honestly THAT extreme, but he didn't care.

"Now then…" She started to put her arms around him.

He didn't waste any time as he quickly put his around her and pulled her in for a much deeper kiss. She gave out a muffled laugh at his enthusiasm, but didn't push him away this time.

For what felt like hours to Cody, the two held each other in their arms as they continued to stand in silence, lips locked together. Cody's hand traveled up Gwen's back to the top of her head as he stroked her silky blue hair. He felt her lips curl up into a smile as he did this, so he continued without hesitation.

There really were no words to describe how much joy Cody was feeling right now; Gwen, the girl of his dreams, literally the perfect girl in his mind that he never thought he would meet, let alone date… Was in his arms, her lips on his. He had an increasingly powerful urge to take the kiss… Farther… But at the same time he knew that trying to move that fast was idiotic.

So, much to Gwen's surprise, he was the one that broke the kiss.

"…What's wrong?" She asked, their arms still around each other.

"N-nothing… I just… Don't want to get carried away, you know?" He blushed once again, grinning nervously.

Gwen smirked a bit, shaking her head.

"How respectful of you." She said somewhat jokingly. "But it's probably for the best…"

"Well… I-if you want to do something else… W-we could go get something to eat."

"That sounds nice." Gwen smiled. "It can be our first date!" She gave him one last, quick kiss.

"So… We're dating then?"

"No, I just kiss guys like that ALL the time for no reason." She rolled her eyes.

"Forgot to mention how much I love your sarcasm…" Cody laughed. "Alright let's go!"

And with that, the new couple left the cabin side by side. As they continued to walk, Gwen grabbed Cody's hand, pulling him close at the same time. The two smiled at each other as Gwen rested her head on his shoulder for a few seconds.

But as the two walked off together, Gwen brought up something important; something that brought true, unholy terror to Cody's face.

"So… How are you going to break this to Sierra…?"

That's all for now kiddies, see you next time.


End file.
